Hard Frost
by HawkRider
Summary: Three-shot for winter. The world is different for everyone who looks upon it. There are some who look upon it with sadness, some who look upon it with joy. Some people see all of the good, some see the bad. But what we see, is not always what we want...
1. Hard Frost

**Well, a winter three-shot. One each month. This was originally a creative essay (which I got full marks for!) but turned into Fanfiction because… Well… It worked with Riku. So, yeah. It's Rku's POV in this chapter. And I don't wn Kingdom Hearts so…well, that's everything for now.**

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I stare out of my window. The early morning sun shining, its light reflected a million times off the coating of frost that iced the town like the icing on a cake.

Children run, screaming, as they slide over the smooth surface, falling, only to get back on their feet. I smile, and feel a tear run down my eye. I could never feel like them…

A car slithers through the streets, its tyres unable to find grip. It slides round the next corner, then is lost from sight. The children resume their play, having paused to let the car though. From my vantage point, I gaze over the rest of the town. Further down the street, I see children throwing snowballs, obviously having found a deposit of the frozen powder nearby. I could hear their laughter. Their song of joy.

One child looks up. His hair is brown, and spiky. He smiles at me and then gestures for me to come. I shake my head. I am shocked he has seen me, up where I am, the second floor of the building. He looked upset until a girl threw a snowball at him. He turns, laughing, and starts to chase her down. I had been forgotten so quickly.

I sigh, wishing that I could be down there, with all of the children below, playing in the frozen city. That I could slide on the ice that blanketed the ground, the frost that looked so fun to play in out of my reach forever. I would never feel that pure, boundless joy that they obtained from a simple coat of ice on the street.

I tear my gaze away from the window, only to find myself drawn back to it. The boy I'd seen before is still there, oblivious to my suffering, the unending torment that he is helping to subject me to. I carry on watching.

The snowball fight had spread, the entire street now a giant battleground, children darting for cover as they are fired upon with bullets of white. The sun had risen further and the light that was reflecting off the frost was brighter than ever. I closed my eyes as they adjusted to the levels of light. I could see that some children were being dragged away by adults, one of which being the boy from before. He is pulled around a corner, then out of sight. But I am sure that he was looking right at me.

I returned my gaze to the battlefield. It had started to snow just a little before the parents arrived and it was growing thicker, the white powder covering the frosted streets. It was like icing sugar, showering a cake in sweetness. While the war raged on, some kids split off and started to make a snowman, while others made a wall out of snow to shelter the other people on their side, groups having formed in the fight.

Further down the street, some other kids were using plastic basins to make bricks, building up an igloo, the snow constantly rejuvenating their supply. It was interesting to watch, but I bet it would be even more fun if I could go and help them.

If only I didn't have this problem, my illness… my curse. It stops me from going outside, unless I wear a mask that had been made especially for my needs. My lungs are delicate. If anything got into them that shouldn't be there, they could be severely damaged. It would be dangerous in here, if it wasn't for the dehumidifier. It had the handy side effect of cleaning the air.

I hear the doorbell ring, and then open. Then I heard voices, one of which I could identify as my mother's. The other though, I did not know. Soon, the door closed. I look down, and see that brown haired boy trudging through the snow, away from my front door. He looks back at me, and waves. I wave back, then look back towards the war being fought on the streets.

I notice that the frost on the ground had been fully hidden. But the frost on the walls of all the buildings remained. I knew that described me. I was hidden away from the world, but I was still there.

Just like that cold, hard frost.

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**An, there it is. No names mentioned, but see if you can guess who they all are. If you can't…well, it depends on who you are really…**

**Anyway, part two will come out on the first of January. Part three is for the first of February. Sorry, but I do want it to span winter, so… See you then!**


	2. Dark World

**Same scene, different POV. Sora's this time. I'm still (6/11/12) thinking about whose POV the last chapter should be in…**

**Anyway, this one was what made me decide to publish this as a three-shot. After a friend told me it was great. So… Read!**

**Sorry this is late (again...).  
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I don't know how I noticed that boy. The boy, just sitting in a window while every other kid in the town was enjoying the early winter snow. I could see that his skin was a pasty white, and his hair was silver. I tried to encourage him to come down, but he shook his head. I was about to head over to see him, when I felt a snowball explode over the back of my head. I span, and saw my best friend, trying to stifle some laughs. I scooped up more snow and chased after her, laughing like a madman, completely forgetting the boy.

After several minutes, I managed to get her, and my mind started to drift back to the boy in the window. Why wasn't he down here, playing in the snow like any other kid would be? I just had no clue.

I sighed in frustration. I couldn't figure it out, even in the ten seconds I'd been trying to.

I felt a tug at the collar of my jacket, and I was pulled out of my thoughts, literally. I managed to turn my head and saw my mother dragging me. I struggled against her grip, rounding the corner of the street, the house of that boy's vanishing from sight.

"Mum!" I moaned.

"No Sora. You are coming home. After breakfast, you can come back out, in your proper winter clothes." She told me. I sighed, then decided to just wolf down my breakfast. "Oh, and you have to eat at a reasonable rate." She said. I slumped, as much as I could when I was being dragged. She had just foiled my master plan.

It took me a full half an hour to get back to the street. I had a breakfast of toast and soup, then hurried into my two shirts, jumper and coat, pulling on my gloves as I left. My mum was really paranoid when it came to me. She wanted me to wear more, but I convinced her this was enough.

I arrived at the street, and saw that it was no longer a complete battlefield, some people having split off to do some other things. I checked the windows on the floor the boy was on, and found it, finding the front door of the house soon after. I walked over. The boy didn't seem to see me, he was looking the other way down the street. I knocked, and a woman answered the door. She looked fairly stern.

"Hi." I said.

"Hello." She replied.

"Um, who is that boy?"

"You mean my son?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I was wondering if he wanted to come out and play."

"He can't." She said bluntly.

"Why not?" I activated my puppy-dog eyes, something that worked on almost everyone.

"It's none of your business." She said, obviously immune to the look.

"Please?" I made my eyes as wide as they could.

"No. Now, would you please leave?" She asked me, closing the door in my face.

"Well that was rude." I murmured. I walked away from the house, looking up at the window.

I waved at the boy, and this time he waved back. As he looked away, I thought of something.

While we all have our own wonderful lives, he lives in his own cold, dead world.

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**There is no need to mention how depressing this story is. I already know.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it and will read the last part when it comes out! Hopefully on time... Thank you!**


	3. True Faith

**Yep. I decided to make this chapter less depressing than the others. It's the same scene, but this time it's from Kairi's POV.**

**Yeah, I decided on this when I realised something. Sora and Riku see the world differently, Sora sees both the happiness and the sadness, Riku looks upon the happiness with envy but doesn't notice the sadness so much. I'll tell you what Kairi sees at the end of the chapter.**

**But until then, enjoy!**

**Note: I'm sorry this came so ridiculously late...**

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The day was going to be great! I just knew it. And how? It was a snow day!

With the schools all closed because of the terrible weather (and a few broken heaters), we kids had a day free to play!

Which was how Sora and I found ourselves in the high street of the town, a car having just passed us on tyres that really shouldn't have been used in this weather.

Once it passed, a snowball war went under way. The snow was pouring down on us, near a blizzard, the light playing around us throwing hundreds of reflections in all directions.

I scooped up more snow, forming it in my gloved hands, as I looked around for Sora. I ducked to avoid a stray snowball, and spotted him, staring into space. I took aim, then fired. The powder exploded over the back of his head, causing him to stumble forwards slightly in surprise. He turned, saw me, then scooped up more snow and ran towards me, already forming a snowball.

I ran from him, laughing, more so when I saw him being dragged away by his mother, who had appeared apparently out of nowhere. I had been sensible and had done the bare minimum possible for my parents to come out to get me.

As Sora vanished around a corner, I looked around for something to do, and I eventually decided to join the people making snow walls to defend their half of the battlefield. I threw snow over, piled it up on top of the existing wall and patted it down for a smooth, strong finish. It was fun, if slightly tiring. But it was certainly worth it. I rejoined the battle then, taking cover behind the wall and forming many snowballs for my own ammunition and throwing them one after the other in a continuous set, before repeating. My aim was decent, so I managed to land a lot of hits on the enemy.

I saw Sora heading over then, and a waited until he was close before pulling him down behind the wall. I surprised him, but he got my message when I passed him a few snowballs. He grinned, then peered over the top of the wall, taking aim, before suddenly throwing two at once. I smiled, and returned to the fray, realising something.

I knew that I would remember this time. I had faith that the snow, the happiness, and the memories would last for a long time to come.

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**I don't really like this chapter as much as the others, but oh well. This is the best I seem to be able to manage when it comes to happy things...**

**Anyway, I hope that you disagree with me on this. I'll see you next time!**


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